Beverage lid

ABSTRACT

Embodiments provide a beverage lid including an upper lid surface, a fluid exit port positioned at least in part in the upper lid surface, a vertical lid surface in contact with the upper lid surface and an anti-splash component in contact with at least one of the upper lid surface and vertical lid surface and positioned substantially between a fluid and the fluid exit. In the event of the fluid splashing, the anti-splash component substantially prevents fluid from exiting the lid through the fluid exit, and in the event of a user drinking from the fluid exit, the fluid moves around the anti-splash component and out the fluid exit.

BACKGROUND

Beverage lids are commonly used during the transport and consumption of beverages, especially those that are often commercially sold, such as soda, coffee or tea. In the case of coffee and tea, the high temperature of the beverage presents a danger to the consumer if it is spilled, necessitating the need for a lid more so than for cooler drinks.

While some beverage lids cover their contents completely and provide no exit for the liquid inside, the covering nature of these lids require that the lid be removed before the beverage may be consumed. However, removing a lid is often a two-handed operation, and in today's busy lifestyle, the average consumer may be inconvenienced to use both hands to remove a lid in order to drink their beverage whilst on the move. To get around this problem, many beverage lids contain a small fluid exit port on the rim, allowing the beverage to be consumed without requiring the lid's removal. Although the addition of a fluid exit port increases consumer convenience during the act of drinking, it also increases the risk of spilling the liquid during transport by being jostled, shaken, tilted, or by any other act that may cause liquid to spill. This presents a serious problem, as the liquid inside the cup is often very hot and possesses the capability to cause serious harm through burning. Even if the liquid is not hot, the consumer is inconvenienced by any unintentional spillage from the drinking port.

Some have proposed that a small, removable plug may be made to fit tightly inside the fluid exit port to facilitate safe transport of the liquid by blocking its exit from the vessel, however the plug adds an additional item to remove, store or possibly clean if covered in liquid or foam. The additional plug is also costly to manufacture as a second component to the lid.

Still others have proposed a labyrinth or other mechanism inside the beverage lid that forces the liquid to travel in a predefined path before reaching the fluid exit port, reducing the risk of splashing due to the unlikeliness of a splashed droplet of liquid to travel all the way out of the cup. However, the convoluted path the liquid must follow is not only expensive to produce but furthermore complicates the actual act of drinking, obviating its anti-splash benefits by often not being fully functional.

Still others have proposed a variety of insertable components, often in the shape of circles or “discs” that may be placed between the cup and cup lid to block splashes or spills and that contain some method or apparatus to allow the beverage to still be consumed. However, these components are not usually integrated into the design of the cup or the lid, and must be manually inserted by the user. Therefore, it is very possible that the component could be inserted incorrectly, negating its purpose entirely. The device may also have the capability to turn, fold, or twist inside the cup during transportation, further obviating its purpose and function and allowing liquid to spill on the consumer, which is not only potentially harmful but also embarrassing in social situations.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present invention provide a beverage lid including an upper lid surface, a fluid exit port positioned at least in part in the upper lid surface, a vertical lid surface in contact with the upper lid surface and an anti-splash component in contact with at least one of the upper lid surface and vertical lid surface and positioned substantially between a fluid and the fluid exit. In the event of the fluid splashing, the anti-splash component substantially prevents fluid from exiting the lid through the fluid exit, and in the event of a user drinking from the fluid exit, the fluid moves around the anti-splash component and out the fluid exit. The lid may be disposable or reusable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view diagram of a beverage lid containing a fluid exit port and a concentric circular ridge around the bottom of the lid for attachment to a vessel, according to embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view diagram of the underside of a beverage lid containing a top section containing an upper lid surface, vertical lid surface, fluid exit port, and an anti-splash component, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3A-C illustrate perspective views of an anti-splash component, with and without a flow facilitating peak, formed with or without the inclusion of defined ridges leading to the peak, on one or both sides, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4A-C illustrate perspective views of a triangular embodiment of an anti-splash component, with and without a flow facilitating peak, formed with or without the inclusion of defined ridges leading to the peak, on one or both sides, on one or both sides, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 5A-D illustrates perspective views of an additional embodiment of beverage lid in which the anti-splash component is integrated solely into the upper lid surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the recited terms have the following meanings. All other terms and phrases used in this specification have their ordinary meanings, as one of skill in the art would understand after review of this disclosure.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a beverage lid to cover beverages that contains an attached or integrated mechanism for substantially blocking internal splashing and preventing unwanted liquid spills or splashes while still effectively facilitating flow of the liquid to and out of the fluid exit port during the act of drinking. Furthermore, the following descriptions of specific embodiments should be seen as supplementary to their accompanying drawings, and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view diagram of a beverage lid 102 is shown. Beverage lid 102 is joined at its bottom or lower portion by cup intercepting rim 106. Beverage lid 102 may contain a downward sloping top section to drain excess liquid back into the cup. Beverage lid 102 may contain a small vent hole to allow pressure to be equalized in the cup during the act of drinking. Beverage lid 102 may be manufactured of a paper substrate, metal, a biodegradable material, a compostable material, plastic, or some combination of any or all of a paper material, metal, biodegradable material, a compostable material, and plastic. In one embodiment, beverage lid 102 may also contain a recessed area to accommodate the consumer's nose during the act of drinking. Fluid exit port 104 is also shown. Fluid exit port 104 may be of ovular shape, but may also take the form of a circle, square, rectangle, triangle, or any other reasonable design. In an embodiment, cup intercepting rim 106 is a concentric, continuous ridge joined to or otherwise a part of beverage lid 102 such that the beverage lid may be tightly and securely affixed to a vessel, such as a cup. The affixing mechanism of cup intercepting rim 106 may simply be activated through a pressing motion, but in some embodiments it may be able to be snapped into place, may be integrated into the cup so that the cup-and-lid apparatus is one piece, or may contain ridges on its inner surface so that the lid may be screwed into the top of the cup, further securing it to the vessel. In certain embodiments, beverage lid 102 is injection molded, and in some embodiments the lid is made of polypropylene resin. The lid 102 may be disposable or reusable.

Referring to FIG. 2, a perspective drawing of the underside of a beverage lid 102 is shown, containing upper lid surface 202, anti-splash component 204, and vertical lid surface 206. In an embodiment, upper lid surface 202 and vertical lid surface 206 are inseparably joined together or otherwise integrated with each other at some angle. In one embodiment, the upper lid surface 202 is made of the same material as the rest of beverage lid 102, and in another it is made of a different, more insulating material in order to assist in the temperature regulation of the liquid contained in the vessel covered by the beverage lid discussed in the present invention. In one embodiment, upper lid surface 202 is flat. In another embodiment, upper lid surface 202 contains gradients or recesses in response to the gradients or recesses present in the top of beverage lid 102 that are designed to accommodate things such as excess liquids or the nose of the consumer as they drink. Anti-splash component 204 is designed to attach to or be otherwise integrated with one or both of upper lid surface 202 and the vertical lid surface 206, and is positioned substantially between the fluid in the vessel and the fluid exit port 104. In one embodiment, anti-splash component 204 is attached to either upper lid surface 202 or vertical lid surface 206, and does not touch the other in order to further facilitate the flow of liquid during drinking. In one embodiment, the anti-splash component 204 possesses a uniform thickness and is rectangular in shape; in another it is triangular, circular, ovular, hexagonal, octagonal, trapezoidal, or any other reasonable or easily conceivable shape. In another embodiment, the anti-splash component possesses a non-uniform thickness, and instead has a flow facilitating peak (see 302 of FIG. 3B for example) on one or both sides in order to allow fluid to flow past the anti-splash component and to allow liquid to drain from the top side of the anti-splash component once the consumer has finished drinking. In another embodiment, the anti-splash component has small holes on its surface to further facilitate fluid flow. In yet another embodiment, the anti-splash component is concave or convex.

The anti-splash component 204 can be substantially as wide as the fluid exit port 104, wider or substantially wider than the fluid exit port 104 or the component 204 may be narrower or offset from the exit port 104.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a perspective view of an anti-splash component 204 is shown. Anti-splash component 204 may or may not contain flow facilitating peaks on one or both sides, and the anti-splash component 204 as shown in FIG. 3A does not contain flow facilitating peaks.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a perspective view of an anti-splash component containing a flow facilitating peak 302 is shown. Flow facilitating peak 302 may have a varying height, thickness, and slope. In one embodiment, the flow facilitating peak 302 may have defined ridges that lead to its peak. In another embodiment, the flow facilitating peak 302 may not have ridges, and the anti-splash component may slope up to its peak in a curved fashion.

Referring to FIG. 3C, a side view of an anti-splash component is shown. The anti-splash component has a top flow facilitating peak 302 and a bottom flow facilitating peak 304.

Referring to FIG. 4A-C, perspective and side views of a triangular embodiment of an anti-splash component 402 are shown. It contains top flow facilitating peak 404 and bottom flow facilitating peak 406, but in some embodiments, it contains one or neither. While in this embodiment the anti-splash component is of triangular shape, in other embodiments the anti-splash component may be circular, ovular, hexagonal, octagonal, trapezoidal, or any other reasonable or easily conceivable shape.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-D, perspective views of an additional embodiment of beverage lid in which the anti-splash component is integrated solely into the upper lid surface are shown. The beverage lid 102 may include vent hole 502 as discussed previously. In one embodiment, the anti-splash component 204 is integrated entirely into the upper lid surface 202 and forms a recess 504 as part of the fluid exit port 104. The recess 504 is created by the opposing shape of the component 204. In this embodiment, the component 204 can be rectangular or square and can be about as deep as it is wide, about twice as wide as it is deep, about three times as wide as it is deep, or about four times as wide as it is deep. The component 204 may include ridges, slopes or peaks, as described previously. Such features may facilitate flow of the fluid or prevent pooling on the component 204. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage lid, comprising: an upper lid surface, a fluid exit port, positioned at least in part in the upper lid surface; a vertical lid surface, in contact with the upper lid surface; and an anti-splash component, in contact with at least one of the upper lid surface and vertical lid surface and positioned substantially between a fluid and the fluid exit; wherein in the event of the fluid splashing, the anti-splash component substantially prevents fluid from exiting the lid through the fluid exit, and in the event of a user drinking from the fluid exit, the fluid moves around the anti-splash component and out the fluid exit.
 2. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the beverage lid is manufactured of one or more of a paper substrate, metal, a biodegradable material, a compostable material, plastic.
 3. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the beverage lid is injection molded.
 4. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the beverage lid is made of a polypropylene resin.
 5. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the upper lid surface is flat, contains a gradient or multiple gradients, contains recesses in its topography in order to accommodate things such as excess liquid or the consumer's nose while they drink, or consists of any combination of flat areas, gradients, or recesses.
 6. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the fluid exit port is an oval, circle, rectangle, triangle, or square.
 7. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the vertical lid surface is in contact with the upper lid surface at a right angle, some other angle, or in some combination of right and obtuse and acute angles.
 8. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the internal portion of the upper lid surface is made of the same material as the external portion, or wherein the internal portion of the upper lid surface is made of a different material than the external in order to insulate the beverage covered by the beverage lid.
 9. The beverage lid of claim 8, wherein the internal portion of the upper lid surface is flat or contains recesses and/or gradients in response to gradients or recesses present on the external portion of the upper lid surface.
 10. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the anti-splash component is of a rectangular shape, or is of triangular, circular, ovular, hexagonal, octagonal, trapezoidal, or any other reasonable or easily conceivable shape.
 11. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the anti-splash component is of uniform thickness.
 12. The beverage lid of claim 1, wherein the beverage lid is of non-uniform thickness.
 13. The beverage lid of claim 12, wherein the flow facilitating peaks may have a varying height, thickness, and slope, or may have some combination of varying heights, thicknesses, or slopes.
 14. The beverage lid of claim 13, wherein the flow facilitating peak is further comprised of ridges that meet at an apex to form the flow facilitating peak, or is further comprised of a gradient that slopes up to form the flow facilitating peak in a curved fashion.
 15. The beverage lid of claim 1, where the anti-splash component may contain holes in its surface.
 16. The beverage lid of claim 1, where the anti-splash component may be concave or convex.
 17. The beverage lid of claim 1, where the anti-splash component comprises zero, one, or two flow facilitating peaks.
 18. A beverage lid, comprising: an upper lid surface, a fluid exit port, positioned in the upper lid surface; a vertical lid surface, in contact with the upper lid surface; and an anti-splash component, integrated with the upper lid surface and positioned substantially between a fluid and the fluid exit; wherein in the event of the fluid splashing, the anti-splash component substantially prevents fluid from exiting the lid through the fluid exit, and in the event of a user drinking from the fluid exit, the fluid moves around the anti-splash component and out the fluid exit. 